This blog is very heavily visited by college students looking up information for their assignments and term papers, so to welcome everyone back to school (it is mid-August after all), we'll do a Movie Sunday post on the classic 1978 movie, Animal House. What's so striking to me about this movie is not just the comic material, but what would become an all-star cast (other than the big names at that time of John Belushi and Donald Sutherland). Two actors made their film debuts in Animal House (Karen Allen and Kevin Bacon), and a number of others have had very long and successful careers since then (e.g., Bruce McGill and Tim Matheson). The fact that the score was written by Elmer Bernstein(The Magnificent Seven) is icing on the cake.
Trivia:
Donald Sutherland was so convinced of the movie's lack of potential, that, when offered a percent of the gross or a flat fee of $75,000 for his three days' work, he took the upfront payment. Had he taken the gross percentage he would have been worth an additional $3-4 million.
Although the film takes place in Pennsylvania [and was filmed in Oregon], a Tennessee flag is shown in the courtroom. This is because the set decorator was unable to find a large enough Pennsylvania flag for the scene, and the blue Oregon state flag wouldn't work because it had "State of Oregon" text on the upper part. So the set decorator used the most generic flag he could find, which turned out to be the Tennessee state flag.
All of John Belushi's behavior in the cafeteria was improvised. He was not told to pile all the food on his tray and when he did the director urged the camera operator to "stay with him." The infamous "zit scene" was also improvised. The reaction from the cast is genuine.
The scene in which Bluto smashes a bottle over his head to cheer Flounder up took 18 takes because Stephen Furst kept laughing.
Dean Vernon Wormer: Greg, what is the worst fraternity on this campus? Greg Marmalard: Well that would be hard to say, sir. They're each outstanding in their own way. Dean Vernon Wormer: Cut the horseshit, son. I've got their disciplinary files right here. Who dropped a whole truckload of fizzies into the swim meet? Who delivered the medical school cadavers to the alumni dinner? Every Halloween, the trees are filled with underwear. Every spring, the toilets explode. Greg Marmalard: You're talking about Delta, sir. Dean Vernon Wormer: Of course I'm talking about Delta, you TWERP!
Pinto: Before we go any further, there's something I have to tell you. I lied to you. I've never done this before. Clorette De Pasto: You've never made out with a girl before? Pinto: No. No, I mean, I've never done what I think we're gonna do in a minute. I sort of did once, but i was drunk... Clorette De Pasto: That's okay, Larry. Neither have I. And besides, I lied to you, too. Pinto: Oh, yeah? What about? Clorette De Pasto: I'm only 13.
Earlier this week I stumbled across a webpage that featured clips from various movies. One of those movies is the science fiction classic, Forbidden Planet, starring the late Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, and a non-comedic Leslie Nielsen. Loosely based on Shakespeare's The Tempest, this film was influential in a number of ways, from the first appearance of "Robbie the Robot" (who would later appear in about two dozen movies and TV episodes) to being one of Gene Roddenberry's inspirations for his TV series, Star Trek. I've always liked the film because it successfully combines hard science fiction with soft science fiction (most SF focuses on either one or the other).
In times long past, this planet was the home of a mighty, noble race of beings who called themselves the Krell. Ethically and technologically they were a million years ahead of humankind, for in unlocking the meaning of nature they had conquered even their baser selves, and when in the course of eons they had abolished sickness and insanity, crime and all injustice, they turned, still in high benevolence, upwards towards space. Then, having reached the heights, this all-but-divine race disappeared in a single night, and nothing was preserved above ground.
Commander John J. Adams: Nice climate you have here. High oxygen content.
Robby the Robot: I seldom use it myself, sir. It promotes rust.
Mr. Baseball is one of my favorite movies. (Milady groans. :) ) Why? Because it's a romantic comedy, it's about baseball, and it's about life as an expatriate. (OK, so I loved the movie before I even became an expatriate. ;) ) It's a classic "fish out of the water" story set in a culture that's both exotic and attractive to Americans. Mr. Baseball's also got some exceptionally good performances in it by the supporting cast of actors: Ken Takakura as Uchiyama, the baseball team's manager, Aya Takanasha as Hiroko, the Japanese love interest (and the daughter of Uchiyama), a young Dennis Haysbert as fellow expatriate Max Dubois, and Toshi Shioya as Tom Selleck's interpreter and guide. And the "rookie" in the first clip belting out the 500-foot home runs? That's "The Big Hurt," Frank Thomas.
Now if only I could find a copy of the movie here to buy...
Jack Elliot: Just let them have a little fun.
Uchiyama: Baseball is work. Not fun.
Jack Elliot: Baseball is grown men getting paid to play a game. When you were a kid, I bet you didn't pick up a bat and ball because you were dying to work. A player's career is short enough. Let them enjoy it.
Max 'Hammer' Dubois: Max Dubois. Around here they call me Hammer. Don't ask me why.
Jack Elliot: Jack Elliot.
Max 'Hammer' Dubois: Yeah. I know who you are. I've been in Japan, not dead.
Jack Elliot: C'mon, it ain't over till the fat lady sings!
Toshi Yamashita, Jack's Interpreter:[subtitle as he translates to the team] When the game is over, a fat lady will sing to us!
I thought I'd do an Asian film this week for Movie Sunday. While the Asian film industry isn't nearly as big as either Hollywood or Bollywood, a number of countries in east and southeast Asia have decent film industries, including South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore. This particular film, Kung Fu Hustle, while it did very well in the U.S. for a foreign language film, was huge here in S'pore. The film is usually played several times per year on S'pore TV now. The problem with preparing for this post was not a lack of videos to chose from (the most common problem), but keeping the number down to my traditional two. There are so many great comic and fight scenes to choose from. :) BTW, these clips are the first time I've seen this film dubbed in English; prior to this I had only seen the film in the original Chinese (with subtitles).
Trivia:
The name "Pig Sty Alley" (Zhu Long Cheng Zhai) is a play on the Chinese name for the Walled City of Kowloon (Jiu Long Cheng Zhai), a Chinese enclave in Hong Kong for much of the 20th Century, and well-known as a breeding ground of crime, slums and disorder. It was torn down in 1993.
The "Landlady," played by Qiu Yuen, appeared in the 1974 James Bond film
The Man with the Golden Gun at the age of 18. She played one of two teenage girls who, together, beat up almost every male student in a Thai martial arts academy, allowing Roger Moore to escape. She starred in Kung Fu Hustle by chance. She had accompanied another actress to the audition, where she was seen by the director, Stephen Chow, smoking a cigarette while having a sarcastic expression on her face. Chow convinced her to appear in the film only after much persistent persuasion.
Donut: [nearing death, grabs the landlord] With great power comes great responsibility...
Landlady: Donut, you are badly hurt. You must keep still.
Donut: This could be the end of a beautiful friendship!
Landlord: Oh, Donut. Tomorrow is another day!
Sing's Sidekick: Memories can be painful. To forget may be a blessing!
A couple months ago, there was a diary written on Street Prophets that asked for examples of great movies that no one (or hardly no one) had ever seen. My choice would be a very small independent movie called Smoke Signals that was released in 1998. This is a "road movie" in which the very nerdy Thomas Builds-the-Fire is saved by Victor Joseph's father, Arnold. Arnold, however, abandons his family and moves to the Phoenix, Arizona area, where he lives until his death, ten years later. When Victor and his mother hear of Arnold's death, Thomas offers to finance Victor's trip to Phoenix as long as Thomas is able to go with him.
Trivia:
Smoke Signals was the first movie ever to be written, directed, and co-produced by a Native American.
In the first clip below, the car driven by the two Native American women is supposed to be only capable of driving in reverse. The actress driving the car actually learned how to drive long distances in reverse; as a result, no stunt driver was needed.
Thomas Builds-the-Fire: Hey Victor! I'm sorry 'bout your dad.
Victor Joseph: How'd you hear about it?
Thomas Builds-the-Fire: I heard it on the wind. I heard it from the birds. I felt it in the sunlight. And your mom was just in here cryin'.
How do we forgive our fathers? Maybe in a dream. Do we forgive our fathers for leaving us too often, or forever, when we were little? Maybe for scaring us with unexpected rage, or making us nervous because there never seemed to be any rage there at all? Do we forgive our fathers for marrying, or not marrying, our mothers? Or divorcing, or not divorcing, our mothers? And shall we forgive them for their excesses of warmth or coldness? Shall we forgive them for pushing, or leaning? For shutting doors or speaking through walls? For never speaking, or never being silent? Do we forgive our fathers in our age, or in theirs? Or in their deaths, saying it to them or not saying it. If we forgive our fathers, what is left?
You may wonder how I pick movies for my Movie Sunday series. A lot of it has to do with whether I can find two decent clips on Youtube; that's not always possible. Earlier in the week I had watched Brian's Song, the 2001 TV remake. I had never seen the 1971 original, but I knew the story, bawled like a baby, and said, "Gotta use this for Sunday." Except, there are very few video clips of either version available.
While looking for those clips, I came across clips for "The Longest Yard," thinking that this would be a nice way to show something from both movies (the 1974 original and the 2005 remake). Except that, once again, there are no clips from the original I want to use.
But now I'm thinking about sports comedies and Slap Shot comes to mind. This is another great movie, probably the best hockey movie ever made (at least IMO), and my only regret is that I couldn't find a clip (in English) of Michael Ontkean's strip-tease at the end. ;)
Trivia:
Nancy Dowd, the writer of the screenplay, originally intended for the movie to be a documentary; her brother, Ned Dowd (whom the character Ned Braden is named after) was a player on the Johnstown Jets, whom the Charlestown Chiefs are based upon. The director, George Roy Hill, convinced Nancy to rewrite the movie as a comedy.
Ned Dowd served as stunt coordinator and technical adviser as well as playing the role of "Ogie Ogilthorpe." Since Ned Dowd's introduction to film-making with
Slap Shot, he's had a very successful career as a director and producer of a number of A-list movies.
Steve Carlson, who plays Steve Hanson in the movie, played for two seasons with the Johnstown Jets, then returned to coach the Johnstown Chiefs in the late '80s-early '90s.
The championship trophy presented at the end of the movie was, in reality, the Lockhart Cup, which was representative of the North American Hockey League championship. It now sits in the basement recreation room of actor Danny Belisle, where it has become a flower pot.
Oh this young man has had a very trying rookie season, with the litigation, the notoriety, his subsequent deportation to Canada and that country's refusal to accept him, well, I guess that's more than most 21-year-olds can handle. Number six, Ogie Oglethorpe.
The fans are standing up to them! The security guards are standing up to them! The peanut vendors are standing up to them! And by golly, if I could get down there, I'd be standing up to them!
I watched Platoon for the first time in a very long time last night. The film was very good to begin with (winning the 1987 Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director), and I think it's passed the test of time, especially with other superb war movies having come out since then, such as Saving Private Ryan. What really strikes me about this movie now, though, is what an all-star cast Oliver Stone had assembled. Most of these guys were relative unknowns then, but many have become outstanding actors over the years, including Forest Whitaker and a very young Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp).
Well, here I am, anonymous all right. With guys nobody really cares about. They come from the end of the line, most of 'em. Small towns you never heard of: Pulaski, Tennessee; Brandon, Mississippi; Pork Van, Utah; Wampum, Pennsylvania. Two years' high school's about it, maybe if they're lucky a job waiting for them back at a factory, but most of 'em got nothing. They're poor, they're the unwanted, yet they're fighting for our society and our freedom. It's weird, isn't it? They're the bottom of the barrel and they know it. Maybe that's why they call themselves grunts, cause a grunt can take it, can take anything. They're the best I've ever seen, Grandma. The heart & soul.
Are you smoking this shit so's to escape from reality? Me, I don't need this shit. I am reality.
We had been discussing the movie 300 and the state of CGI this week over at Izzy Mo's, and I had brought up the example of the 1982 movie, Tron, as a film that has poor to average computer graphics by today's standards, but was obviously at the forefront of CGI at the time.
In many ways, Tron is actually a very good movie (at least in my opinion ;) ) What I like is the soundtrack by Wendy Carlos, whose musical work I've been familiar with since my teenage years, and the philosophical undertone of the movie, which suggests that, like the computer world of Tron, humanity is a form of organic computer in which we individuals are "bytes," interacting with each other, sharing, storing and creating data that allow our collective "program" to grow and be improved upon. (This, to me, is the meaning of the last scene in the movie, when we look over the sped-up cityscape at night.)
Trivia:
Jeff Bridges produced too much of a bulge in the crotch area in his computer outfit, so he was forced to wear a dance belt to conceal it.
Although the film was an initial failure, the arcade video game based on it proved to be a tremendous hit and actually out-grossed the film.
The movie was passed over for an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects because the Academy felt
Tron "cheated" by using a computer. (Seven years later, The Abyss (1989) would win for its computer visual effects.)
Have you ever noticed how similar the scenes involving the character "V.I.K.I." in the 2004 movie,
I, Robot, including Will Smith's sliding down the computer core and injecting the "nanites," are to Jeff Bridges' falling into the MCP to allow Bruce Boxleitner ("Tron") to throw in his identity disk? Milady did.
BTW, I don't normally feature or remark about tribute videos, but I will say that I rather enjoyed watching this video that sets scenes from Tron to the Eiffel 65 song, Blue (Da Ba Dee).
Tron: If you are a user, then everything you've done has been according to a plan.
The fender bender Judy (Barbra Streisand) causes as she crosses the street to the Bristol Hotel was added on the spur of the moment. When no stunt cars were available, Bogdanovich instructed a crew member to rent two cars and make sure he got collision insurance. Then he staged the wreck before returning the battered cars.
It took a month to film the final chase scene (the second clip, below), and it cost $1 million - a quarter of the total budget. The segment with the giant pane of glass alone took four or five days.
The director, Peter Bogdanovich, didn't get permission from the city of San Francisco to drive cars down the concrete steps in Alta Plaza Park; these were badly damaged during filming and still show the scars today.
The long-haired blond delivery boy whose bike Judy steals is played by Kevin O'Neal, Ryan O'Neal's brother. The woman she sits next to on the plane in the final scene is Patricia O'Neal, their mother.
The line, "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard," said by Ryan O'Neal (see the bottom quotation) is actually a spoof on O'Neal's 1970 movie, Love Story, the tag line of which is "Love means never having to say you're sorry" (which O'Neal said in that movie).
Fritz: You will enter Mrs. Van Hoskins' room, through the adjoining room and you will take the jewel case to the basement.
Harry: What if she wakes up and sees me?
Fritz: You will tell her you are smitten with her, that you have have followed her all night, and you will make passionate love to her.
Harry: Couldn't I just kill her?
Judy: Love means never having to say you're sorry.
This is another of my favorite movies (and one in which Milady finds something else to do while I watch it ;) ). And yet, as is frequently the case with respect to "historical" films, sifting the "Hollywood" away from the history can be a daunting task, especially for a film like Lawrence of Arabia in which there are serious debates not only about the accuracy of the historical events portrayed, but also about the man himself. Regardless, the movie has long been recognized for its excellence, and has frequently been listed among a number of "Top 10" lists of all-time movies. We also have this film to thank for inspiring a certain contemporary film director to go into film-making for his career.
Interesting facts about Lawrence of Arabia:
No woman has a speaking role in the entire movie.
While the movie was originally planned to be filmed entirely in Jordan, many scenes were filmed in either Morocco (desert scenes and the Tafas massacre, where the Morrocan army was used to play the Ottoman army) and Spain (the attack on Aqaba, the train attacks, the city scenes of Cairo and Jerusalem, and all the interior scenes).
Henry Oscar, who has a small role in the film and recites an English translation from the Qur'an, received permission from Jordanian authorities to do so only on condition that an imam be present to ensure that there were no misquotes.
Well, I'll tell you. It's a little clash of temperament that's going on in there. Inevitably, one of them's half-mad - and the other, wholly unscrupulous.
Young men make wars, and the virtues of war are the virtues of young men: courage, and hope for the future. Then old men make the peace, and the vices of peace are the vices of old men: mistrust and caution.
I originally decided to feature the movie Breaker Morant today, but could find only one decent clip. So we'll add a similar movie to go with it, that being Gallipoli.
Whereas the 1902 court-martial of Australian soldiers Lt. Harry 'Breaker' Harbord Morant, Lt. Peter Joseph Handcock, and Lt. George Witton caused Australia to become increasingly resentful of the British military and British rule in general (the Australian army never again accepted British Army justice in cases involving its soldiers), the debacle at Gallipoli is considered the birth of national consciousness in both Australia and New Zealand, bringing about the psychological independence for both countries from British rule.
The final scene in Gallipoli is supposed to be of the Battle of the Nek (Nek being the Afrikaans word for "mountain pass"), which took place on August 7, 1915. The infantry assault by the Australian 3rd Light Horse Brigade was scheduled for 4:30 am, preceded by a naval bombardment of the Turkish machine gun lines that faced the Australians. However, the bombardment ended prematurely, at 4:23 a.m., allowing the Turkish soldiers time to return safely back to their lines prior to the assault, which they now knew was coming:
The first wave of 150 men from the 8th Light Horse Regiment, led by their commander, Lieutenant Colonel A.H. White, "hopped the bags" and went over the top. They were met with a hail of machine gun and rifle fire. A few men reached the Turkish trenches, and marker flags were reportedly seen flying, but they were quickly overwhelmed.
The second wave of 150 followed the first without question and met the same fate. This was the ultimate tragedy of the Nek, that the attack was not halted after the first wave when it was clear that it was futile. A simultaneous attack by the 2nd Light Horse Regiment (1st Light Horse Brigade) at Quinn's Post against the Turkish trench system known as "The Chessboard" was abandoned after 49 out of the 50 men in the first wave became casualties. In this case, the regiment's commander had not gone in the first wave and so was able to make the decision to cancel.
Lieutenant Colonel N.M. Brazier, commander of the 10th Light Horse Regiment, attempted to have the third wave canceled, claiming that "the whole thing was nothing but bloody murder." He was unable to find Colonel Hughes and unable to persuade the brigade major, Colonel J.M. Antill, who believed the reports that marker flags had been sighted. So the third wave attacked and was wiped out. Finally Hughes called off the attack, but confusion in the fire trench led to some of the fourth wave going over.
When Commonwealth burial parties returned to Gallipoli in 1919, the found the bones of the Australians still lying on the battleground. A total of 326 soldiers were buried at the Nek Cemetary, of which only ten (six Australians and four New Zealanders) were identified.
Notes: In the second clip for Gallipoli, the movie proper ends at the 4:05 mark; whoever created this clip left the credits running for the remaining 3:16. You may also notice that "Major Barton" (who gives the pep talk to the soldiers just before they're slaughtered) is actor Bill Hunter, whom we last saw on a Movie Sunday post as "Barry Fife" in Strictly Ballroom.
It really ain't the place nor time to reel off rhyming diction, but yet we'll write a final rhyme while waiting crucifixion. For we bequeath a parting tip of sound advice for such men who come in transport ships to polish off the Dutchman. If you encounter any Boers, you really must not loot 'em, and if you wish to leave these shores, for pity's sake, don't shoot 'em. Let's toss a bumper down our throat before we pass to Heaven, and toast a trim-set petticoat we leave behind in Devon.
Shoot straight, you bastards - don't make a mess of it!
Jack: What are your legs? Archy Hamilton: Springs. Steel springs. Jack: What are they going to do? Archy Hamilton: Hurl me down the track. Jack: How fast can you run? Archy Hamilton: As fast as a leopard. Jack: How fast are you going to run? Archy Hamilton: As fast as a leopard. Jack: Then lets see you do it.
The thing I can't stand about you mate is you're always so bloody cheerful.
I just read that Harvey Korman died Thursday, May 29th, due to complications from a rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Instead of doing our normal focus on one movie today, I thought I'd pay tribute to Korman by showing two clips of his work. Perhaps like many people, I remember Korman best for his work on The Carol Burnett Show and for his role as "Hedley Lamarr" in the Mel Brooks comedy, "Blazing Saddles." [Unfortunately, the quality of this first clip isn't terribly good, but I thought the material was funnier than some of the other clips available.]
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un.
Taggart: What do you want me to do, sir?
Hedley Lamarr: I want you to round up every vicious criminal and gunslinger in the west. Take this down.
[Taggart looks for a pen and paper while Hedley talks]
Hedley Lamarr: I want rustlers, cut throats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers, buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswogglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train robbers, bank robbers, ass-kickers, shit-kickers and Methodists.
Taggart:[finding pen and paper] Could you repeat that, sir?
Hedley Lamarr: Repeat after me: I...
Men: I...
Hedley Lamarr: ...your name...
Men: ...your name...
Hedley Lamarr:[to himself] Shmucks. [continues aloud] ... do pledge allegiance...
For this week's Movie Sunday, the choice of movie is a no-brainer: Raiders of the Lost Ark. With the fourth movie being released Thursday (today as I write this) and Milady loving all the "Indy" movies - we've even bought the tickets last weekend - I don't have to use too many neurons to decide which movie to highlight.
(Update: Milady and I caught the movie yesterday (Saturday) afternoon. We were a little surprised at the small crowd; for Ironman you couldn't get tickets for days and days. Yesterday, the theater was less than half full. Still, we both enjoyed the movie. I'd give it 3.5 of 5 stars.)
I first caught this movie as a double feature with Jaws at the Heights Theater, which I'm happy to say is still open. That was the first time I saw both movies for the first time, actually. Talk about a bargain. ;)
BTW, Archaeology magazine has an article on the Legend of the Crystal Skulls in the current issue. As a sidebar article, there's some information about the South American idol that Indiana Jones takes in the first video clip below:
In the opening scenes of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana Jones is hot on the trail of an extremely valuable golden idol created by an unidentified ancient South American culture. The goddess's image, which Jones deftly snatches from an altar (setting off a series of booby traps that culminate with an enormous boulder nearly crushing our hero), is of a woman in the act of giving birth. The golden figure was modeled on a purportedly Aztec greenstone carving called Tlazolteotl, considered to be a masterpiece by the Dumbarton Oaks Museum in Washington, D.C.
In my research into the object's acquisition history, I discovered that a Chinese dealer in Paris sold the figure in 1883 to a famous French mineralogist, Augustin Damour. His friend, Eugene Boban, advised Damour on the purchase. In examining the artifact's iconography, I found that the birthing position is unknown in documented pre-Columbian artifacts or depictions in codices. I have also used scanning electron microscopy to analyze the manufacture of the idol and have found there is ample evidence of the use of modern rotary cutting tools on the object's surface. In my opinion, the Tlazolteotl idol, like the crystal skulls, is a nineteenth-century fake.
Indiana: The Ark of the Covenant, the chest that the Hebrews used to carry around the Ten Commandments. Major Eaton: What, you mean THE Ten Commandments? Indiana: Yes, the actual Ten Commandments, the original stone tablets that Moses brought down from Mt. Horeb and smashed, if you believe in that sort of thing... [the officers stare at him blankly] Indiana: Didn't any of you guys ever go to Sunday school?
Marion: You're not the man I knew ten years ago. Indiana: It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
I was rather busy as a teenager, but in the late fall of 1977, my dad (aka JDny) took me to the cinema to watch a movie with him, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Of course it was spectacular, I was blown away, blah blah blah, you know, just like everyone else, except that, just like everyone else, we were all still going gaga over another movie that had been released a few months earlier, Star Wars. That was Close Encounters biggest problem, coming out in the same year (not the same month, but the same year) as Star Wars. Still, Close Encounters is a great movie and had some wonderful performances by Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, and the late François Truffaut. Five years later, Steven Spielberg would take up the same basic idea and make us all go gaga over ET.
If we're all ready on the Dark Side of the Moon... play the five tones.
I guess you've noticed something a little strange with Dad. It's okay, though. I'm still Dad.
Another fantastic film, although I'm somewhat disappointed with my VCD copy of it at home (all the English translation subtitles that appear on the American version are missing; I'm going to have to upgrade to the DVD). What has surprised me since I read Mario Puzo's original novel is how this relatively thin novel had more than enough material to produce two major movies plus leave a few chapters out (those primarily dealing with the characters Johnny Fontane and Lucy Mancini, both of whom had more substantial roles in the novel). When it comes to The Godfather, I'm somewhat happy I don't live in the U.S. anymore: those weekends when the TV stations play The Godfather, I and II back to back, I always found it very difficult to pull myself away from the TV. :)
You don't understand. Johnny Fontane never gets that movie. That part is perfect for him, it'll make him a big star, and I'm gonna run him out of the business - and let me tell you why: Johnny Fontane ruined one of Woltz International's most valuable proteges. For three years we had her under contract - singing lessons, dancing lessons, acting lessons. I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars. I was gonna make her a big star. And let me be even more frank, just to show you that I'm not a hard-hearted man, and that it's not all dollars and cents: She was beautiful; she was innocent. She was the greatest piece of ass I've ever had, and I've had it all over the world. And then Johnny Fontane comes along with his olive oil voice and guinea charm, and she runs off. She threw it all away just to make me look ridiculous! And a man in my position can't afford to be made to look ridiculous! Now you get the hell out of here. And you tell that gumba that if he wants to try any rough stuff that I ain't no band leader. Yeah, I heard that story.
(Note: "...[R]right before Mike turns to English, instead of saying: "do you want to play" in Sicilian, he's actually saying: "but i want that" or "ma voggiu ca" instead of "ma vu giucar". Notice that he says in English: "what i want".)
This is one of my favorite movies of all time, although Milady groans (very loudly) if I want to watch it. I happened to catch this at the dollar theater a few months after it originally came out (1992) and was completely captivated by it. On my way home the first night I saw it, I stopped by the grocery store where a friend worked and I told him about this wonderful dance movie I had just seen, and he just couldn't get over it. "You went to see a dance movie?" :) Strictly Ballroom works for me on many levels. It's got beautiful music (I love Latin music), beautiful dancing, a lot of humor and a tight plot (it was a stage play in the mid 80s prior to being filmed).
The first video is of Scott and Fran dancing behind the stage curtains to Doris Day's "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps." The second video is of the final competitive dance between Scott and Fran (filmed at an actual dance competition during the real competition's lunch hour).
Liz: What do I want? I'll tell you what I want! I want Ken Railings to walk in here right now, and say 'Pam Short's broken both her legs, and I wanna dance with YOU!' [the door flies open. It's Ken] Ken: Pam Short's broken both her legs, and I wanna dance with you. Kylie: That was unexpected.
This was such a funny movie in so many ways. Of course, most of the humor is very dark, but I like those movies a lot. Even something as simple as Butch (Bruce Willis) choosing his weapon when he decides to confront Zed and Maynard is funny (the progression from the small sledge hammer to the baseball bat to the small chain saw until, finally, the samurai sword). These clips are part one and two of the fight between Butch and Marsellus (Ving Rhames), and their capture and escape from Zed, Maynard and "The Gimp."
What now? Let me tell you what now. I'ma call a coupla hard, pipe-hittin' niggers, who'll go to work on the homes here with a pair of pliers and a blow torch. You hear me talkin', hillbilly boy? I ain't through with you by a damn sight. I'ma get medieval on your ass.
Two music videos to share this afternoon from the movie Blade Runner. The first video is a compilation of two of the three musical themes from the soundtrack; the second is a full version of the movie's love theme.
Fiery the angels fell. Deep thunder rolled around their shores... burning with the fires of Orc.
[Original verse from the poem, "America, A Prophecy," by William Blake.]
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.
